BILL NUMBER: SB 1946	CHAPTERED  09/29/00

	CHAPTER   866
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 29, 2000
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 30, 2000
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 28, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 25, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 7, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   MAY 2, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Senator McPherson

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2000

   An act to amend Section 16605 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to social services, and making an appropriation
therefor.

      (Approved by Governor September 28, 2000.  Filed with
Secretary of State September 29, 2000.)

   I am signing Senate Bill 1946, which, among its provisions, would
specify that a county shall not become ineligible for Kinship Support
Service Program (KSSP) grant funds due to a reduction in the
percentage of relative care placements.  However, I am deleting
section 2 and 3 of the bill, which would provide a $3 million General
Fund appropriation to augment funding for those counties currently
eligible to participate in the program in addition to funding an
evaluation of the program.  Funding for these purposes should be
considered in the context of other priorities during the development
of the annual state budget.
                                                 GRAY DAVIS, Governor



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1946, McPherson.  Kinship support services.
   Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to
conduct a Kinship Support Services Program that is a grants-in-aid
program providing startup and expansion funds for local kinship
support services programs that provide community-based family support
services to kinship caregivers and the children placed in their
homes by the juvenile court or who are at risk of dependency or
delinquency.  Under existing law, the counties participating in the
program must meet specified requirements, including the requirement
that 40% or more of dependent children in the county be in relative
care placements.
   This bill would prescribe a priority for  county participation in
the program.
   The bill would provide, however, that a county shall not become
ineligible for grant funds due to a reduction in the percentage of
relative care placements.
   The bill would also require the department to contract for a study
of the cost and benefits, and the effectiveness, of the Kinship
Support Services Program.
   This bill would appropriate $2,775,000 from the General Fund to
the department to fund the Kinship Support Services Program,
including the study required by the bill, and would appropriate
$225,000 from the General Fund to the department to fund specified
technical assistance to be provided to the program.
   Appropriation:  yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 16605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   16605.  (a) The department shall, subject to the availability of
funds appropriated therefor, conduct a Kinship Support Services
Program that is a grants-in-aid program providing startup and
expansion funds for local kinship support services programs that
provide community-based family support services to relative
caregivers and the children placed in their homes by the juvenile
court or who are at risk of dependency or delinquency.  Relatives
with children in voluntary placements may access services, at the
discretion of the county.
   (b) The Kinship Support Services Program shall create a
public-private partnership.  A combination of federal, state, county,
and private sector resources shall finance the establishment and
ongoing operation of the program.
   (c) The counties participating in the program shall meet the
following requirements:
   (1) Have 40 percent or more of dependent children in relative care
placements.
   (2) Have a demonstrated capacity for collaboration and interagency
coordination.
   (3) Have a viable plan for ongoing financial support of the local
kinship support services program.
   (4) Utilize relative caregivers as employees of the program.
   (5) Have strong and viable public or private agencies to operate
the program.
   (d) The Kinship Support Services Program shall demonstrate the
use of supportive services provided to relative caregivers and
children placed in their homes using a community-based kinship
support services model.  This model shall provide services to
relative caregivers that are aimed at helping to ensure permanent
family kinship placements for children who have been placed with them
by the juvenile court, and to provide family support services that
will eliminate the need for juvenile court jurisdiction and the
provision of services by the county welfare department.
   (e) The program shall provide family support services appropriate
for the target populations.  These services may include, but are not
limited to, the following:
   (1) Assessment and case management.
   (2) Social services referral and intervention aimed at maintaining
the kinship family unit, for example, housing, homemaker services,
respite care, legal services, and day care.
   (3) Transportation for medical care and educational and
recreational activities.
   (4) Information and referral services.
   (5) Individual and group counseling in the area of parent-child
relationships and group conflict.
   (6) Counseling and referral services aimed at promoting
permanency, including kinship adoption and guardianship.
   (7) Tutoring and mentoring.
   (f) The Edgewood Center for Children and Families in San Francisco
or any other appropriate agency or individual approved by the
department in consultation with the Statewide Kinship Advisory
Committee shall provide technical assistance to the Kinship Support
Services Program and shall facilitate the sharing of information and
resources among the local programs.
   (g) For the 2001-02 fiscal year, the department shall give
priority in the grants-in-aid program to counties that have
participated in the Kinship Support Services Program prior to the
2001-02 fiscal year or to counties that have received technical
assistance and training related to that program, but no funding for
program services.
   (h) A county shall not become ineligible for grant funds due to a
reduction in the percentage of relative care placements.
  SEC. 2.  The State Department of Social Services shall contract for
a study on the cost and benefits, and the effectiveness, of the
Kinship Support Services Program, provided for pursuant to Section
16605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.  The department may
utilize up to two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($225,000) of
the appropriation made by subdivision (a) of Section 3 of this act
for the purposes of the study required by this section.
  SEC. 3.  In addition to any other funds appropriated for purposes
of Section 16605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the sum of
three million dollars ($3,000,000) is appropriated as follows:
   (a) The sum of two million seven hundred seventy-five thousand
dollars ($2,775,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to
the State Department of Social Services for the purposes of funding
the Kinship Support Services Program provided for pursuant to Section
16605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
   (b) The sum of two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($225,000)
is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department
of Social Services for funding the technical assistance to be
provided to the Kinship Support Services Program by the Edgewood
Center for Children and Families or any other appropriate agency or
individual approved by the department in consultation with the
Statewide Kinship Advisory Committee, for purposes of Section 16605
of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
